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Sewing Quilting Living LovingTue, 04 Apr 2017 19:04:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://i0.wp.com/sewnhenge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cropped-sewnhengeheader.jpg?fit=32%2C32Sewnhengehttp://sewnhenge.com
323299794523The Soleil Dress, An Oldie But A Goodie!http://sewnhenge.com/2017/04/04/soleil-dress-oldie-goodie/
http://sewnhenge.com/2017/04/04/soleil-dress-oldie-goodie/#commentsTue, 04 Apr 2017 19:04:26 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2292This weekend, I got bit by the most serious sewing bug!! Would you even believe I made THREE dresses? One for Millie and two for Nova… I guess I was making up for lost time since I feel like I haven’t

]]>This weekend, I got bit by the most serious sewing bug!! Would you even believe I made THREE dresses? One for Millie and two for Nova… I guess I was making up for lost time since I feel like I haven’t made anything in ages. I’ll talk about the third one first, though, because Nova is home with me and I got some super cute pictures of it (and her) today ;)

I bought this ridiculously cute Japanese organic baby fabric when I was pregnant from Bunny’s Designs here in Austin. That place has some of the most adorable fabric ever! I needed to make sure to use it quickly before Nova was too old for it, though! What’s cute on a baby is sometimes not at all cute on a toddler, let’s be serious ;)

So about the dress, I had forgotten how quick and easy it is to throw together. I also forgot how much I friggen LOVE sewing with knits! So fast, SO satisfying! Millie was freaking out telling all her friends, “Mommy can sew a dress in HALF A DAY!!” Let’s be real, it took like 2 hours. Hahahaha! It is so sweet how proud she is, though :)

The back detail is seriously what I love about this dress. I love me some baby backs! So soft, so tickly, I just want to go up and kiss/eat/tickle that back every time I see it <3

The pockets are sweet too, but seriously, what is an 8-month-old going to do with a pocket? Just look adorable, I guess! I’m okay with that!

I need to get back to sewing knits more often, I really enjoy the dickens out of it.. Does anyone have any knit patterns they love? Women’s or kid’s would make me happy!!

Anywho, my goodness, how is this little girl eight months already?? Time is flying by way too fast. She is seriously one of the happiest babies I’ve ever seen and her personality is starting to blossom into a silly little love angel. I’m a super lucky mom!!! I just have to leave you with this hilarious picture of one of Nova Pearl’s best scrunch faces<3

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2017/04/04/soleil-dress-oldie-goodie/feed/32292Rowan (mom-bod) Bodysuithttp://sewnhenge.com/2017/03/20/rowan-mom-bod-bodysuit/
http://sewnhenge.com/2017/03/20/rowan-mom-bod-bodysuit/#commentsMon, 20 Mar 2017 17:15:11 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2274Back in December, I was asked to test the new Rowan Bodysuit from Megan Nielsen. It is both a regular fitted tee and a bodysuit with a snap crotch! SO 1990’s!!! It makes me remember that time when my sister

]]>Back in December, I was asked to test the new Rowan Bodysuit from Megan Nielsen. It is both a regular fitted tee and a bodysuit with a snap crotch! SO 1990’s!!! It makes me remember that time when my sister wore them all the time but I never did because I thought I was either not old enough or not cool enough or not skinny enough, lol. But this version is SO MUCH BETTER than those of the 90’s! Gone are the ridiculous hip bone showing high rise bodysuits of that era, and in with this awesome low rise body suit! Avert your eyes NOW if you don’t want to see a major mom- bod in action!

I sewed up two versions, one regular tee and one body suit. Both were the V-necks because I’m still nursing and the easier access the better! Can I just talk about that V-neck for a second, though? Usually, when I sew a pattern with that neckline, I feel like it is so high up that it may as well be a crew neck and I end up lowering it… But not this one!! It was actually a good depth straight outta the box! Also, the directions are very clear so that the V is very easy to sew on clean and beautiful :)

Picking out the size to sew for myself was a bit of a shocker, this post 3 babies body is not one that I recognize!! I had to use an L for the top and XL for the waist measurement… That is SO OPPOSITE from what I’m used to!! Usually, it is my bust measurement that puts me in the bigger sizes!! I used my upper bust measurement, as I always do in knits… When I use my actual bust measurement, the shoulders tend to be way too big.

I couldn’t believe I had enough fabric left over from this project to make an entire tee shirt. Even with long sleeves!! You know it’s funny, I actually like this shirt more now that I’m looking at the pictures than I did before the photo shoot.. That’s pretty awesome!

I used a basic black fabric for the bodysuit. There are a couple skirts that I have where I like to tuck in the shirts, but they always ride up.. having the bodysuit is pretty great to keep things where they should without riding up!! I almost never sew basics, but holy shmoly was there an epic gap in my wardrobe before! Super happy to fill it up with this :)

The only issue is when I have to pee and then I forget there is that whole extra step of unsnapping beforehand, LOL!! But I used Kam snaps, so they just pop off pretty easy with no problem :)

SO there you have it, folks! The new Rowan from Megan Nielsen :) And my first blog post in ages haha! Who knows, maybe I’ll be back around again sometime soon to talk about that blue skirt :D

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2017/03/20/rowan-mom-bod-bodysuit/feed/52274Quinn Has a New Coat Too!http://sewnhenge.com/2016/11/04/quinn-new-coat/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/11/04/quinn-new-coat/#commentsFri, 04 Nov 2016 21:36:41 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2245Introducing the Lewis Coat from Compagnie M! (warning: very picture heavy post ahead!) While the testing for the Louisa coat was happening, there was a great idea being thrown around to make a more masculine version of the coat for boys.

While the testing for the Louisa coat was happening, there was a great idea being thrown around to make a more masculine version of the coat for boys. With that little seed, and what I’m sure was a ton of work from Marte, the Lewis Coat was born! Perfect, since Quinn’s winter coat is actually a girl coat and has bows on the pockets, lol! I figured he would probably notice them this year so it was time to replace it! Also, perfect timing since Millie somehow managed to actually puke on that other coat while I was making this one…

ಠ~ಠ

Anywho, there wasn’t much time to test this (about a week) and my sister and niece were going to be in town for Halloween, but I figured I’d try to get it done anyway. I was kind of afraid I wouldn’t actually ever make it if I didn’t have the time limit kick in the pants ;) Sewing this didn’t even start until Monday, and wouldn’t you know it, I finished it Thursday morning! I obsessively pumped through it and I freakin’ LOVE the results!!

When I made Millie’s Louisa, as much as she and I love the finished product, the fabrics were ALL WRONG and slippy and ridiculous and frankly, kind of difficult to sew. This time, I actually chose the proper type of fabric, lol! SUCH a huge improvement in the joys of sewing! There is also that thing about how patterns just go together better the second time you sew them..

It took a bit of time at the fabric shop to decide what on earth to use, but I decided on a simple blue twill (that was Quinn’s only request: blue) with orange pops for the lines.

I was trying to get him to wear a more neutral shirt for this little photo shoot, but spiderman was the only thing he was willing to wear. So that is what we did! It was spidey or naked lol, sometimes you just have to go with a 3-year old’s whims.

I was going back and forth between the Avengers fabric and robots.. I went with the Avengers, and it was CLEARLY the right choice!! Quinn has been pretty hard into superheroes lately (he has been wearing Superman and Batman costumes for a month now plus has Iron man hands and a Captain America shield that he uses all the time. Let’s not even talk about the damage he does with his Hulk smash) He didn’t see it until the coat was almost finished, he was SO EXCITED he danced around and KISSED the coat! He wanted to wear it that night but I had to let him down gently because it wasn’t done yet, I still had to sew the hood on!

I went for the zipper and hood options this time, where I used buttons and the collar on Millie’s Louisa. Quinny isn’t quite there with buttons yet, and he is pretty excited to be able to easily zip this thing up and down on his own. It would have been nice to have found an orange zipper, but white and black were the only options I had.. Actually, I like how it kind of goes with the comic book theme :)

Instead of traditional piping, I used the orange fabric to make flat piping. I thought it would look more manly ;) I really love how it turned out! And it was crazy easy to make and sew! I honestly wasn’t sure if you’re supposed to interface the flap piping or not.. I did just so it wouldn’t get weird and floppy with wear..

There is fleece inside of it to keep him nice and warm in the winter. Having to sew basically another coat was a bit more work, but it was worth it :) I was laughing to myself as I was easing in 6 sleeves with just one project. lol! I might just be an expert now!

Also I just need to mention the size of this kid.. He’s only 3 and I had to sew a size 5 with his measurements!!! I know I need him to wear 5 for pants because he is so tall, but the fact that his chest measurement put him there too shocked me! Jake and I make monster sized children!

If you’re interested,there is a discount code for the Lewis Coat that is good all the way until December 4th! It is LEWISCOAT10. It is a PDF and is only 7 Euros without the discount :) There will also be a fun contest (details here) for anyone who sews this or the Louisa Coat by December :D

Honestly, I never thought I would ever sew a coat. They just seemed way too intimidating.. And now I’ve sewn two in such a short amount of time!! I’m even contemplating making a coat for myself!! I’m super proud of this one, I’m pretty sure it is my favorite thing I’ve ever sewn. I am positive it is Quinn’s favorite thing I’ve sewn!

Now we just have to wait for the weather to cooperate so he can wear it!!

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/11/04/quinn-new-coat/feed/42245A Pimped Out Louisa Coathttp://sewnhenge.com/2016/10/25/pimped-louisa-coat/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/10/25/pimped-louisa-coat/#commentsTue, 25 Oct 2016 15:16:46 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2204I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the world. I got to be a tester for Compagnie M‘s fantastic new pattern, the Louisa Coat! The design of this coat features a really sweet pocket design that you can embellish

]]>I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the world. I got to be a tester for Compagnie M‘s fantastic new pattern, the Louisa Coat!

The design of this coat features a really sweet pocket design that you can embellish with piping, and two back versions, one with complementary piping and one plain. There are also two collars or a hood to choose from, and the closure can be a zipper or buttons.

I know this coat is designed for thicker and stiffer fabrics to really keep out that cold, but since we live in Texas and don’t see too many freezing cold days, I used some thinner, more drapey fabrics. I was a tiny bit nervous that the style wouldn’t hold up with such an unstructured fabric, but it totally worked out!! So now you know it can work with both! Thank goodness, lol!

It was perfect timing, Millie has recently had a huge growth spurt and no longer fits in anything, including last year’s winter jacket. So I took her to Joann’s so she could pick out which fabric she wanted for her new coat :) She gets super excited to be part of the designing process for her clothes!

I should have known this girl would pick something FABULOUS. Hello, super fluffy fabric! Oh, HEY, hilarious leopards in the jungle innards!!! I would have picked something WAY more subdued, but I’m always so happy with and I get a lot more joy out of her choices!!

The girl cutting the fabrics was having a hoot of a time laughing at what would become a 7-year old’s insanely pimping coat. She was cracking up, like only pimps and old ladies would have coats like this.. And my Millie, of course! She really does have her own style and I LOVE it!

I went with the Tulip Elton collar because I just love the extra button detail in the back. And that piping! It is such a weird awesome roping that adds just a bit more oomph to the whole thing, like as if this coat could have been MORE fabulous! Again, an amazing Millie choice! I swear this girl is going to be some sort of designer one day. She doesn’t have much interest in doing the actual sewing, she just draws up her designs and expects her minions (me) to whip them out for her. A real leader, lol!

This was my first time sewing a coat and I thought it would be a kind of difficult challenge, but it totally wasn’t! I’ll admit, with Nova here, I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t have the time to finish it. But I was wrong! There are a few more prep steps, but everything goes together pretty fast and easy. This mother of three managed to print the pattern, trace it out, add seam allowances, cut it out, cut the fabric, interface it up and sew the whole thing in less than a week! So you can too, I promise!! Plus Marte included seam allowances in the final pattern so you can skip that step altogether! Woohoo!!

It was fun, too :D Since you’re sewing a lining into the outer coat, most of the time you’re sewing inside out. The final result is a bit of a mystery! There is this crazy satisfaction that comes with turning everything inside in and seeing the completed coat when you’re done. I’m was pleasantly surprised when I turned the whole thing right-side out and the coat ended up being very sweet and not too pimp-y at all!

I did have a bit of an issue sewing those darn button holes, which made me wish I had gone with the zipper. My machine WOULD NOT sew the holes into the coat to save its life. Just as thick test scraps? NO PROBLEMO! Actual coat? NOPE. But Millie had requested buttons so I had to persevere! I ended up just cutting the holes and hand binding them with a needle and thread. Thank goodness the fabric I used was synthetic and doesn’t tear on its own! And it was easier and less time consuming than I would have thought, so YAY!

I had such a fun time during the testing process. I was the only non-Dutch speaking person, so I went back and forth with a LOT of Google translate, which isn’t always the most accurate, especially with sewing terms! But I know a bunch of Dutch words now. Turns out sewing is a fun way to learn a new language, lol! There are SO many gorgeous versions of this coat that all the testers made, you should check out the Compagnie M blog to see all the other beautiful coats :)

This pattern comes in both a paper version and a PDF version. And from now until December 4, there is a 10% off discount if you type in the code LOUISACOAT10. Sweet!!

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/10/25/pimped-louisa-coat/feed/52204Matchy Matchy Geranium Dresshttp://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/09/matchy-matchy-geranium-dress/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/09/matchy-matchy-geranium-dress/#commentsFri, 09 Sep 2016 19:16:17 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2197I said I was going to blog about the other Geranium Dress I made for Nova, and this was obviously the reason why! There was about a half yard or so leftover from the background fabric of this quilt and I

]]>I said I was going to blog about the other Geranium Dress I made for Nova, and this was obviously the reason why!

There was about a half yard or so leftover from the background fabric of this quilt and I thought it would make an adorable baby dress :) I realised after I sewed it, though, that DOH! I don’t prewash the fabric I quilt with and this dress might get ruined in the wash! Thank goodness nothing TOO crazy happened in the process, just a bit of wrinkling that no one but me would ever notice. But I don’t want to make that mistake again :) Other than that, there really isn’t much to say about the construction of the dress. Super straightforward, sweet and simple :)

Anyways, I’ve been dying to get some pictures of her wearing this dress with the quilt in the background. I’m so happy I have this blog to nudge my arse to do it before she grows out of it! She has worn it quite a bit and I’ve already lost one of the buttons in the back… OH WELL!

I was trying to google the name for matching a subject’s clothes to the background, but couldn’t find any term for it.. Does one exist? There should totally be a term! I did find this awesome photographer’s work, though! Super cool!

She is getting more and more animated every day and I am dying from the cuteness over here.

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/09/matchy-matchy-geranium-dress/feed/42197Miss Nova Pearl and the Supernova Starburst Quilthttp://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/02/miss-nova-pearl-supernova-starburst-quilt/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/02/miss-nova-pearl-supernova-starburst-quilt/#commentsFri, 02 Sep 2016 18:06:34 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2184Heyyoooooo!!! I’ve been a bit busy the past few months!! I finally gave birth to our sweet baby Nova Pearl July 20th (10 whole days after her “due date”! She was a whopping 9lbs and she is the sweetest babe ever!

]]>Heyyoooooo!!! I’ve been a bit busy the past few months!! I finally gave birth to our sweet baby Nova Pearl July 20th (10 whole days after her “due date”! She was a whopping 9lbs and she is the sweetest babe ever! I can’t even remember what it was like being a family of 4, she adds such a perfect dimension to our family! Now let’s talk about the baby quilt I made her :)

I don’t know if any of you follow me on Instagram, but a few months ago, I was torturing myself putting this quilt together! I made zero shortcuts, every dang diamond was sewn on individually. It took me FOREVER. I had this thing though, where I NEEDED to finish it before the baby was born. Probably one of the reasons she was late, LOL.

I made such an effort to have no same colors touching each other and moved and rearranged the pieces a million times to get the look I wanted. I LOVE how it ended up!!! The fabric line I used was Grunge by Moda. I used a jelly roll, which I bought from my local Quilt shop, a Quilter’s Folly. I just loved the muted rainbow look. The feel of these colors make such a juvenile thing such as rainbows seem a bit more mature :) Which is kind of silly, since it is, after all, a baby quilt, but I like how it just looks a bit more sophisticated :D

I started to freak out as I was nearing the end, I was running out of pieces to finish the square of the blanket!! I had to get creative and dig smaller scraps out of the garbage and sew them together to finish! But thank goodness with creativity and perseverance, I got it done!

I quilted it by sewing around the star bits so there are eight-sided stars sewn onto the back, which for some reason, I was having a HELL of a time photographing, so this is the best I could do. Use your imagination for the rest ;) OH, and also, this blanket has been used in the past 6 weeks and I wasn’t about to iron it before taking pictures of it this morning so excuse the wrinkles, ha!

The dress, of course, is handmade :D it is the little Geranium dress from Made by Rae, which is a free pattern, WOOHOO! I used this double gauze I got from Fabric.com. It is different from other gauzes I’ve used, very wrinkly and not as soft as the Japanese ones, but it works perfect for this little baby dress :) I wouldn’t use it for an adult garment, though.

Nova isn’t the biggest fan of tummy time, she doesn’t cry, but she is clearly not joyous about it.. But I wanted to get a pic of the buttons in the back. I clearly didn’t manage to get those said buttons, but here’s a non-frowny picture!

I love this little pattern. I made another dress for her with this pattern too, that I’m dying to take pictures of, but haven’t found the time to yet. Maybe soon! It is just so perfectly adorable and simple.

I’m so happy this lucky girl gets to have this awesome quilt to keep as an heirloom! If I hadn’t finished it before she was born, I don’t think I would have had the heart to finish it after, ha! It took almost all I had! Let me tell you, being on your hands and knees basting a quilt and then hunching over quilting it at 9+ months pregnant is no easy feat! This might have been the most energy I’ve ever put into a blanket, but it was so worth it in the end :)

Can we all just stop now and appreciate how hilarious babies are? I’m obviously no newborn photographer, LOL

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/09/02/miss-nova-pearl-supernova-starburst-quilt/feed/142184Compagnie M’s New Noa Pants!http://sewnhenge.com/2016/06/09/compagnie-ms-new-noa-pants/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/06/09/compagnie-ms-new-noa-pants/#commentsThu, 09 Jun 2016 20:57:27 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2166I was so excited to have been chosen as one of the testers for Marte from Compagnie M‘s new pattern, the Noa Pants!!! (Ooh, look! There is a coupon code at the bottom :D) They look adorable on both girls AND boys,

]]>I was so excited to have been chosen as one of the testers for Marte from Compagnie M‘s new pattern, the Noa Pants!!! (Ooh, look! There is a coupon code at the bottom :D) They look adorable on both girls AND boys, which is SO FRIGGEN FANTASTIC I can’t even explain it. There are so few patterns out there that I can sew for both kids! It is a really fast project with very cute pocket details that you can customize in lots of ways with different color fabrics :) I’m obviously a fan of all the Compagnie M patterns, I’ve sewn so many of them! She is starting to create a series of “special basics”, which is awesome! They will be easy to sew patterns with no difficult closures or techniques (no zippers, no welt pockets, etc) and they will only be 5 Euros! (The current exchange rate puts that at $5.66, which is great!)

With summer here in Texas, I decided to make the shorts version instead of the pants. (Nice that there is an option for both!) Quinn is aways lacking in the shorts department, I don’t know what it is about boys that dirties up bottoms so much, but I find that drawer is always empty and the laundry basket is always full! So I was so happy to be able to add a couple new pairs to his arsenal.

These plaid ones were the second pair I sewed after the pattern was tweaked a bit in the testing version. Here is a picture of the first and second pairs comparing the 2 fits (and how awesome testing really is and how much it helps to perfect a pattern!)

Do you see how the first ones were a bit too loose around the hips and pockets? That all got carved out and fixed, now they are perfect! Don’t get me wrong, the first draft was totally wearable, as a matter of fact he is wearing those little blue whale ones today :D

I’m happy Quinn decided to bend over and show off how I tried to stripe match this plaid, LOL! But really.. I was close, but I’m going to blame this pregnancy on the mishaps there.. One thing this picture really DOES show is the awesome fact that these pants fit really well and don’t show off his little crack when he bends over ;)

I was having a difficult time trying to figure out how to show off shorts in photos, so I tucked Quinn’s shirt in, which kind of makes me laugh because I’m so not used to seeing him with tucked shirts. When it wasn’t tucked though, he kept lifting it up, like ALL THE WAY up coving his face to show off the shorts for the pictures, haha! I figured that would not be the best for blog photos!

Speaking of blog photos, there really aren’t many good ones today! As I was taking pictures, I accidentally stepped on an anthill D: I was very lucky to have smothered myself with Skin So Soft oil before going outside (hello fear of Zika while pregnant!) So as I got my first bite, I looked down to about ONE HUNDRED fire ants on my feet and legs, I brushed them off, but I could tell they were trying and failing to actually bite through the oil, which is amazing!! Somehow I got away with only 15 bites (which was still horrible) but it could have been MUCH, MUCH worse than that so I’m thanking my lucky stars :) It is amazing how regular mosquito repellent doesn’t work on me, but if I grease myself up, I’m good.. Who knew it was good for ants too!?

Anywho, I’m looking forward to making a couple more pairs of these.. For some reason, they are a little addicting! Of course, it is no secret that I love a fast and satisfying project! Millie rarely wears pants, but I think she would really like these in a nice soft fabric like a voile or gauze or something. The thing that is so awesome is that these pants are actually fun and easy to make! I always tend to shy away from kid’s patterns with zip flys because it just seems like a lot of tiny fiddly work for something that will be grown out of very quickly. But regular elastic waists tend to look boring.. The pockets on these really make them stand out from the crowd and turn them into something special!

So there we have it, the new Noa Pants pattern!! And right now you can get 10% off using the code: NOA10 which will be valid until June 19th :) I love discounts, who doesn’t?? lol!

I hope to see a lot of these around, all the ones I’ve seen so far have been amazing!

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/06/09/compagnie-ms-new-noa-pants/feed/112166Vote for Quinn’s Hawaiian Shirt on Project Run and Play!!http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/26/quinns-hawaiian-shirt-voting/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/26/quinns-hawaiian-shirt-voting/#commentsThu, 26 May 2016 20:50:10 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2163I was super surprised and happy and excited to see that the Hawaiian shirt I made for Quinn was picked as one of the five to be up for vote to be the winner on Project Run and Play! It has

]]>I was super surprised and happy and excited to see that the Hawaiian shirt I made for Quinn was picked as one of the five to be up for vote to be the winner on Project Run and Play!

It has been a while since I participated, but I thought “what the heck” and decided to just plop it in there for fun.. I thought there was no way it would be chosen against all those adorable dresses it was up against, but there it was!!

Anyway, if you want to head on over to PR&P to vote for me (or anyone else who you think is deserving ;) that would be awesome and I will love you forever!!

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/26/quinns-hawaiian-shirt-voting/feed/221632015 Block of the Month Quilt COMPLETE!http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/16/2015-block-month-quilt-complete/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/16/2015-block-month-quilt-complete/#commentsTue, 17 May 2016 01:14:59 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2145Woohoo! It took me a year and a half, but I made a new quilt! Okay, okay, I’m exaggerating about the year and a half thing, it was supposed to take a long time ;) This was the first block of

Okay, okay, I’m exaggerating about the year and a half thing, it was supposed to take a long time ;) This was the first block of the month I’ve ever done, run by my local quilt shop A Quilter’s Folly.

This was a totally awesome intro to blocks of the month, the style is totally up my alley! I love the rainbow colors and the grey background, it is a totally fun modern color scheme and matches my personality pretty well. The one they have going on this year is a bit too pinky- purpley- girly for me, even though I’m doing it anyway…

They had us buy a book and a ruler to go with it, Lazy and Lovin’ It by Joan Hawley and this Creative Grids lazy angle ruler. I’ll admit, it took me a couple blocks to get the whole thing down, but in the end, all the blocks were totally fun and easy. None of them took me more than an hour to complete.

For the finishing bit, all those dang squares!!! I thought I was going to go cross-eyed sewing them all up, but I really do have an issue with unfinished projects and I wouldn’t let myself sew anything else until the quilt top was done :) I was pretty amazed at how quickly I did them all, it was during Christmas break so my family was in town and the kids had some entertainment other than me so I got some nice chunks of time in for this!

But then, there she sat for over 4 months being ignored, every once in a while taunting me, just staring at me from the table next to my sewing table, laying it on thick that it wasn’t quite actually finished until I quilt and bound the darn thing. So I finally decided to use that 25% off opportunity I have every first Tuesday when we get the new blocks of the month and I picked out the fun background fabric to use. Really difficult to decide, by the way- the whole line of Back Porch Prints is ridiculously adorable. I’m excited to have a half yard left over to make a ridiculous dress for the new baby :)

After that was sorted out, I GOT TO IT! I decided to do some fun free motion swirlies all over it, which was NOT that easy on this, the biggest quilt I’ve ever made!! The whole time I was sewing it up, I reasoned that perfection is not my goal, and there are some serious pluses to the quirks of mistakes. All in all, I am pretty pround of how it all came out!! I was SOOO happy to finish the quilting part!! Until I turned it over and looked:

OH NO!!!! How did that happen?? A good bit of fabric got bunched up together at the bottom of the quilt :( For a minute there I was trying to convince myself that it would totally be okay to leave it as is, another “character flaw” and a fun nod at the imperfect but lovely homemade situtation.. But then no, it was too much. Queue music from that old Perdue commercial, PICK PICK PIIICCCCKKK!

I can’t be the only one who has this go through her head the entire time an epic sewing mistake happens.. Thankfully it didn’t take that long, I just put on one of my guilty pleasure shows while Quinn was still sleeping and fixed it up.

Next came the binding!! After a lot of thought, I went with simple grey to match the rest since there was already a busy border. I usually would have done something fun and bright to bind with, but I am so happy I went simple, I LOVE the way it looks!! It took three days of sitting on my arse hand sewing that dang binding. I know things would be much faster if I just machine sewed it, but I can’t handle how much I love a clean finished binding. But the cool thing is, with hand vs machine, I can still be around the family and partake in conversations and other things way more than I could do sitting by the machine. My fingers feel a little blistered but I AM FINISHED and it feels so good!!

Now maybe I can get started on that baby quilt I already bought fabric for but have no design in mind for yet….. Does anyone have an awesome jelly roll quilt pattern they would like to throw my way?

]]>http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/16/2015-block-month-quilt-complete/feed/132145A Joy to the Senseshttp://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/11/a-joy-to-the-senses/
http://sewnhenge.com/2016/05/11/a-joy-to-the-senses/#commentsWed, 11 May 2016 15:34:36 +0000http://sewnhenge.com/?p=2130I recently got inspired to draft a little dress for Millie. I saw some people talking about dresses for children with sensory disorders. Someone was looking for a dress that had no closures, no major seams, lots of flow. Millie

I recently got inspired to draft a little dress for Millie. I saw some people talking about dresses for children with sensory disorders. Someone was looking for a dress that had no closures, no major seams, lots of flow. Millie doesn’t have a sensory issue, but I thought it would be cool to tinker around with a style that would work for that kind of issue.

The style and shape of the dress are pretty simple, I used a t-shirt pattern that I had and just extended the neckline by a couple inches and also the armpit lines. I figured gathering the fabric would allow for some extra flow while also being a cute design. I also flared out the sides to give it more fabric. To add some visual interest, I made it a high low hem, just for fun.

I was kind of figuring things out as I went along- I realized I hadn’t drafted it in such a way that the ending circumference of the neck line and arm holes would be intuitive, so I just took out the original pattern and measured how big those holes were supposed to be and gathered to that. I cut the bindings to about 85% that length to pull them in a bit and not have them gape.

I decided it would be easier to sew the sides together before gathering the arm holes so all the gathers would be even under the pits without a weird gap at the seam. I just serged the bindings on both the neckline and the armholes. Easy peasy :)

The fabric I used was some stuff I bought from Joann’s ages ago that has a weird mystery fabric content. Probably polyester cotton spandex mix of weirdness. It is kind of clingy and full of static, also really warm! I think it might hold too much heat for summer in Texas, but the reason I used it was because this dress was just an experiment, I had no sentimental attachment to it, and I knew Millie would love it for the color and the butterflies.

As it is, I think this dress is cute, but I think I would ADORE it if it were made of some sort of thinner flowy woven fabric instead of this weird knit. But I don’t know how I would go about sewing something like that without closures.. Then again, Millie doesn’t have that sensory issue so that shouldn’t be a problem for me! I just thought it would be neat to challenge myself to create something that fit into those parameters.

Millie lost her tooth the morning before this little photo shoot- she was REALLY excited to show off her new little smile :) Also- holy moly this girl needs a haircut!!

I think I’ll keep working with this style, examining these photos, I really like how it looks. I think next time I’ll make the shoulders a bit more narrow and open up the armholes more and make it more tank top-y. I may even play around with a racer back for giggles.. Making things from scratch is fun!!

Also, every time I do make something that I’ve drawn up instead of just made from a pattern, I always think “Gee, maybe I should have taken photos of the process and made a tutorial for that”. Would anyone actually be interested in something like this? Lemme know if I should make the effort :)